Former Fayette police chief dead at 50, cause unavailable

Sgt. Sam Black, a former Fayette police chief, died Thursday at DCH Regional Medical Center.He was 50. The cause of his death was not available, but he reportedly said Wednesday that he did not feel well and went to the emergency room at the Fayette Medical Center.Those who knew Black said his attention to detail and belief in his chosen profession enabled him to excel in law enforcement, whether as an officer, shift supervisor or police chief.“We were co-workers, but we were friends before that,” said Fayette Police Chief Danny Jenkins, who succeeded Black as the helm of the department in 2009. “I always respected Sam because sometimes it’s hard to take a stand just because it’s right ... but that was all that mattered to him, as long as he did it right.”Black began his law enforcement career with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department before being hired by the city’s police department on May 9, 1992.In June 2005, he was named acting chief of the department after Chief Euel Hall stepped down because of health concerns. The Fayette City Council made the appointment permanent in January 2006, choosing Black over five other candidates. Part of his duties included helping the department overcome the lingering effects of its darkest hour — two years before Black became chief, Devin Moore, then 18, murdered police officers Arnold Strickland and James Crump and dispatcher Leslie “Ace” Mealer, who were working the night shift at the department. Moore is on death row for the crimes, which stunned the quiet town and gained international attention.When he took over as chief, Black signaled that the department would not be defined by the tragedy, saying at the time, “I’ve seen some of the worst things that can happen to a law enforcement agency. But law enforcement officers are resilient. Yes, it happened. Yes, it’s over with. It’s time to move on. We mourn the dead officers but we have an obligation to the citizens of this community to provide the best law enforcement available.”Mayor Ray Nelson said that Black led the police department well during his four years at the helm.“After he became our police chief, he had our total support and he did an excellent job while he was in there,” Nelson said. “And he had that position as long as he wanted it.”That turned out to be until Oct. 31, 2008, the day Black announced during a called meeting of the City Council that he was stepping down as police chief. Nelson said that Black wanted to return to day-to-day policing, rather than manage the department, and he stayed on as an officer.Jenkins was hired in January 2009, and he said that having Black, his longtime friend, waiting on him when he took over made the transition much more bearable.“When I came in, Sam was the first officer I met with,” Jenkins said. “I told him that I would be counting on him heavily and would need his input.“He just jumped in with both feet.”Now, Jenkins said that he hopes others can learn from the example that Black set during his career.“A lot of people, they find gray areas in everything. But he was one of these people where everything was right or wrong, black or white — there was no in-between,” Jenkins said. “He enforced the job equally in life across the board. A lot of times, that makes it hard on you, but it didn’t bother him.“He was just a solid, dependable man.”Funeral arrangements are being handled by Nelson Funeral Home in Fayette but were not completed Thursday.